HPE6-A78 Exam Dumps - Aruba Certified Network Security Associate Exam

HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager (CPPM) uses device profiling to classify endpoints, and one of its profiling methods involves analyzing HTTP User-Agent strings to identify device types (e.g., iPhone, Windows laptop). HTTP User-Agent strings are sent in HTTP headers when a client accesses a website. For CPPM to profile devices using HTTP User-Agent strings, it must receive the HTTP traffic from the clients. In this scenario, the company is using Mobility Controllers (MCs), campus APs, and AOS-CX switches, and CPPM is the only ClearPass solution in use.

HTTP User-Agent Profiling: CPPM can passively profile devices by analyzing HTTP traffic, but it needs to receive this traffic. In an AOS-8 architecture, the MC can mirror client traffic to CPPM for profiling. Since HTTP traffic is part of the data plane (user traffic), the MC must mirror the data plane traffic (not control plane traffic) to CPPM.

Option A, "Create datapath mirrors that use the CPPM's IP address as the destination," is correct. The MC can be configured to mirror client HTTP traffic to CPPM using a datapath mirror (also known as a GRE mirror). This involves setting up a mirror session on the MC that sends a copy of the client’s HTTP traffic to CPPM’s IP address. CPPM then analyzes the HTTP User-Agent strings in this traffic to profile the endpoints. For example, the command mirror session 1 destination ip source ip any protocol http can be used to mirror HTTP traffic to CPPM.

Option B, "Create an IF-MAP profile, which specifies credentials for an API admin account on CPPM," is incorrect. IF-MAP (Interface for Metadata Access Points) is a protocol used for sharing profiling data between ClearPass and other systems (e.g., Aruba Introspect), but it is not used for sending HTTP traffic to CPPM for profiling. Additionally, IF-MAP is not relevant when only CPPM is in use.

Option C, "Create control path mirrors to mirror HTTP traffic from clients to CPPM," is incorrect. Control path (control plane) traffic includes management traffic between the MC and APs (e.g., AP registration, heartbeats), not client HTTP traffic. HTTP traffic is part of the data plane, so a datapath mirror is required, not a control path mirror.

Option D, "Create a firewall whitelist rule that permits HTTP and CPPM's IP address," is incorrect. A firewall whitelist rule on the MC might be needed to allow traffic to CPPM, but this is not the primary step for enabling HTTP User-Agent profiling. The key requirement is to mirror the HTTP traffic to CPPM, which is done via a datapath mirror, not a firewall rule.

The HPE Aruba Networking AOS-8 8.11 User Guide states:

"To enable ClearPass Policy Manager (CPPM) to profile devices using HTTP User-Agent strings, the Mobility Controller (MC) must mirror client HTTP traffic to CPPM. This is done by creating a datapath mirror session that sends a copy of the client’s HTTP traffic to CPPM’s IP address. For example, use the command mirror session 1 destination ip source ip any protocol http to mirror HTTP traffic to CPPM. CPPM then analyzes the HTTP User-Agent strings to classify endpoints by type (e.g., iPhone, Windows laptop)." (Page 350, Device Profiling with CPPM Section)

Additionally, the HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11 User Guide notes:

"HTTP User-Agent profiling requires ClearPass to receive HTTP traffic from clients. In an Aruba Mobility Controller environment, configure a datapath mirror to send HTTP traffic to ClearPass’s IP address. ClearPass will parse the HTTP User-Agent strings to identify device types and operating systems, enabling accurate profiling." (Page 249, HTTP User-Agent Profiling Section)

For an ArubaOS-CX switch enforcing 802.1X on a port without any fallback options or port-access roles configured, and where the supplicant on the connected client has not completed authentication, the only type of traffic the authenticator accepts from the client is EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol). EAP is a universal authentication framework used in 802.1X for message exchange during the authentication process. The switch allows EAP packets because they are necessary for the client and the authentication server to perform the authentication process. This is standard behavior for 802.1X authenticators, which is to permit EAP traffic to pass through even before authentication is successful to facilitate the authentication exchange. This information is supported by the IEEE 802.1X standard and ArubaOS-CX security configuration guides.

Malware (malicious software) is a broad category of software designed to harm or exploit systems. HPE Aruba Networking documentation often discusses malware in the context of network security threats and mitigation strategies, such as those detected by the Wireless Intrusion Prevention (WIP) system.

Option A, "Worms are usually delivered in spear-phishing attacks and require users to open and run a file," is incorrect. Worms are a type of malware that replicate and spread automatically across networks without user interaction (e.g., by exploiting vulnerabilities). They are not typically delivered via spear-phishing, which is more associated with Trojans or ransomware. Worms do not require users to open and run a file; that behavior is characteristic of Trojans.

Option B, "Rootkits can help hackers gain elevated access to a system and often actively conceal themselves from detection," is correct. A rootkit is a type of malware that provides hackers with privileged (elevated) access to a system, often by modifying the operating system or kernel. Rootkits are designed to hide their presence (e.g., by concealing processes, files, or network connections) to evade detection by antivirus software or system administrators, making them a stealthy and dangerous type of malware.

Option C, "A Trojan is any type of malware that replicates itself and spreads to other systems automatically," is incorrect. A Trojan is a type of malware that disguises itself as legitimate software to trick users into installing it. Unlike worms, Trojans do not replicate or spread automatically; they require user interaction (e.g., downloading and running a file) to infect a system.

Option D, "Malvertising can only infect a system if the user encounters the malware on an untrustworthy site," is incorrect. Malvertising (malicious advertising) involves embedding malware in online ads, which can appear on both trustworthy and untrustworthy sites. For example, a legitimate website might unknowingly serve a malicious ad that exploits a browser vulnerability to infect the user’s system, even without the user clicking the ad.

The HPE Aruba Networking Security Guide states:

"Rootkits are a type of malware that can help hackers gain elevated access to a system by modifying the operating system or kernel. They often actively conceal themselves from detection by hiding processes, files, or network connections, making them difficult to detect and remove. Rootkits are commonly used to maintain persistent access to a compromised system." (Page 22, Malware Types Section)

Additionally, the HPE Aruba Networking AOS-8 8.11 User Guide notes:

"The Wireless Intrusion Prevention (WIP) system can detect various types of malware. Rootkits, for example, are designed to provide hackers with elevated access and often conceal themselves to evade detection, allowing the hacker to maintain control over the infected system for extended periods." (Page 421, Malware Threats Section)

The main distinction between a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack and a traditional Denial of Service (DoS) attack is that a DDoS attack is launched from multiple devices, whereas a DoS attack originates from a single device. This distinction is critical because the distributed nature of a DDoS attack makes it more difficult to mitigate. Multiple attacking sources can generate a higher volume of malicious traffic, overwhelming the target more effectively than a single source, as seen in a DoS attack. DDoS attacks exploit a variety of devices across the internet, often coordinated using botnets, to flood targets with excessive requests, leading to service degradation or complete service denial.

In an AOS-8 architecture with a Mobility Conductor (MC) and Mobility Controllers (MCs), the Traffic Analysis dashboard (available in the MC UI) allows administrators to monitor wireless clients’ application usage (e.g., identifying traffic from applications like Zoom, YouTube, or Skype). To enable this functionality, the MCs must be able to inspect and classify client traffic at the application level.

Firewall Visibility and DPI: The AOS-8 platform includes a stateful firewall that can perform deep packet inspection (DPI) to classify traffic based on application signatures. Enabling "firewall visibility" on the MCs activates DPI, allowing the firewall to inspect packet payloads and identify applications. This data is then used by the Traffic Analysis dashboard to display application usage statistics for wireless clients.

Option D, "Enabling firewall visibility and deep packet inspection (DPI) on the MCs," is correct. Firewall visibility must be enabled on the MCs to perform DPI and classify client traffic by application. This is typically done with the command firewall visibility in the MC configuration, which activates DPI and allows the Traffic Analysis dashboard to display application usage data.

Option A, "Configuring packet capturing on the MCs’ data plane," is incorrect. Packet capturing (e.g., using the packet-capture command) is used for manual troubleshooting or analysis, not for enabling the Traffic Analysis dashboard. Packet captures generate raw packet data, which is not processed for application usage statistics.

Option B, "Enabling logging on the users category on the MCs," is incorrect. Enabling logging for the "users" category (e.g., using the logging command) generates logs for user events (e.g., authentication, role assignment), but it does not provide application usage data for the Traffic Analysis dashboard.

Option C, "Discovering the mobility devices in HPE Aruba Networking Central," is incorrect. While discovering devices in Aruba Central can provide centralized monitoring, the Traffic Analysis dashboard in AOS-8 is a local feature on the MC and does not require Aruba Central. Additionally, application usage monitoring requires DPI on the MCs, not just device discovery.

The HPE Aruba Networking AOS-8 8.11 User Guide states:

"The Traffic Analysis dashboard on the Mobility Controller provides visibility into wireless clients’ application usage, such as identifying traffic from applications like Zoom or YouTube. To enable this feature, you must enable firewall visibility and deep packet inspection (DPI) on the MCs. Use the command firewall visibility to activate DPI, which allows the firewall to classify traffic by application. The classified data is then displayed in the Traffic Analysis dashboard under Monitoring > Traffic Analysis." (Page 360, Traffic Analysis Dashboard Section)

Additionally, the HPE Aruba Networking Security Guide notes:

"Firewall visibility on AOS-8 Mobility Controllers enables deep packet inspection (DPI) to classify client traffic by application. This is required for features like the Traffic Analysis dashboard, which displays application usage statistics for wireless clients, helping administrators monitor network activity." (Page 55, Firewall Visibility Section)

The scenario involves an AOS-8 controller-based solution with a WPA3-Enterprise WLAN using HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager (CPPM) for authentication. The company is using digital certificates for authentication (likely EAP-TLS, as it’s the most common certificate-based method for WPA3-Enterprise). A user’s Windows domain computer has certificates installed, but authentication fails. The Mobility Controller (MC) logs show Access-Rejects from CPPM, indicating that CPPM rejected the authentication attempt.

Access-Reject: An Access-Reject message from CPPM means that the authentication failed due to a policy violation, certificate issue, or other configuration mismatch. To troubleshoot, we need to find detailed information about why CPPM rejected the request.

Option C, "The Alerts tab in the authentication record in CPPM Access Tracker," is correct. Access Tracker in CPPM logs all authentication attempts, including successful and failed ones. For a failed attempt (Access-Reject), the authentication record in Access Tracker will include an Alerts tab that provides detailed reasons for the failure. For example, if the client’s certificate is invalid (e.g., expired, not trusted, or missing a required attribute), or if the user does not match a policy in CPPM, the Alerts tab will specify the exact issue (e.g., "Certificate not trusted," "User not found in directory").

Option A, "The reports generated by HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Insight," is incorrect. ClearPass Insight is used for generating reports and analytics (e.g., trends, usage patterns), not for real-time troubleshooting of specific authentication failures.

Option B, "The RADIUS events within the CPPM Event Viewer," is incorrect. The Event Viewer logs system-level events (e.g., service crashes, NAD mismatches), not detailed authentication failure reasons. While it might log that an Access-Reject was sent, it won’t provide the specific reason for the rejection.

Option D, "The packets captured on the MC control plane destined to UDP 1812," is incorrect. Capturing packets on the MC control plane for UDP 1812 (RADIUS authentication port) can show the RADIUS exchange, but it won’t provide the detailed reason for the Access-Reject. The MC logs already show the Access-Reject, so the issue lies on the CPPM side, and Access Tracker provides more insight.

The HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11 User Guide states:

"Access Tracker (Monitoring > Live Monitoring > Access Tracker) logs all authentication attempts, including failed ones. For an Access-Reject, the authentication record in Access Tracker includes an Alerts tab that provides detailed reasons for the failure. For example, in a certificate-based authentication (e.g., EAP-TLS), the Alerts tab might show ‘Certificate not trusted’ if the client’s certificate is not trusted by ClearPass, or ‘User not found’ if the user does not match a policy. This is the primary place to look for deeper insight into authentication failures." (Page 299, Access Tracker Troubleshooting Section)

Additionally, the HPE Aruba Networking AOS-8 8.11 User Guide notes:

"If the Mobility Controller logs show an Access-Reject from the RADIUS server (e.g., ClearPass), check the RADIUS server’s authentication logs for details. In ClearPass, the Access Tracker provides detailed failure reasons in the Alerts tab of the authentication record, such as certificate issues or policy mismatches." (Page 500, Troubleshooting 802.1X Authentication Section)

Symmetric encryption is a type of encryption where the same key is used to encrypt and decrypt the message. It's called "symmetric" because the key used for encryption is identical to the key used for decryption. The data, or plaintext, is transformed into ciphertext during encryption, and then the same key is used to revert the ciphertext back to plaintext during decryption. It is a straightforward method but requires secure handling and exchange of the encryption key.

In the context of ArubaOS-Switches, enabling Enhanced Secure mode has several benefits, one of which includes disabling insecure algorithms for protocols such as SSH. This is in line with security best practices, as older, less secure algorithms are known to be vulnerable to various types of cryptographic attacks. When Enhanced Secure mode is enabled, the switch automatically restricts the use of such algorithms, thereby enhancing the security of management access.